Beautiful Stairs: Safety Meets Style

Solid to Near-Transparent Materials Turn the Humble Railing Into High Design

Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City. I have Bachelor of Architecture and Master in Urban Planning degrees, and over ten years experience in architectural practice, split between Chicago and NYC. Currently I'm focused on writing and online pursuits. My daily blog can be found at http://archidose.blogspot.com

Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City.... More

Many comments in my recent ideabooks on stairs hone in on the guardrails — or lack thereof. This seems like a good time to discuss guardrails, not in terms of code, which varies by location and residence, but in their design.

Faced with the requirements for a guardrail in an open stair (not enclosed by walls on both sides), what type of guardrail should be used? What are the effects that come from a solid guardrail, a wood one, a glass one, a guardrail with pickets, one with cables, or a perforated metal one? The examples that follow range from the solid to the transparent, with a range of effects in between.

This unique stair with perforated steel steps (featured in my ideabook on "artful stairs") uses solid steel guardrails in the center of the stair. In this way they become the antithesis of the lighter steps, making them appear more stable than their translucency implies.

Of course, one question that might come to mind when considering a guardrail is "why not a wall?" This example illustrates that a wall can double as a guardrail — in this case in the same central position as the previous stair — while the stair is still relatively open. Here that effect is aided by open risers.

Solid guardrails, be they wood or metal, can also be made porous through cuts. This curving stair — easily one of the most elegant on Houzz — is a beautiful design that bridges art nouveau and modern/contemporary design. The flower-like pattern cut in the steel varies from solid to areas with spindly lines, but the overall effect is of something solid and heavy. No doubt this effect is related to the material, the color, and the way the steel plates extend beyond the steps.

Of course, guardrails don't have to be completely solid or transparent. This stair and hallway feature a partial-height wall capped by a steel-bar picket railing with a continuous wood handrail on top. This design minimizes the extent of the steel railings, giving the guardrail a little more weight, keeping in line with the rest of the house.

This guardrail uses perforated steel plates to give a gauzy translucency to the inside of the stair. The effect works with the area's materials and design: wood floors and walls, and perforated metal light fixtures suspended from thick rope.

Another stair with perforated steel guardrails illustrates one thing that can happen regardless of material: The guardrail can be used to fill in the zone from stringer to stringer. This piece in the foreground acts basically like a wall, but it is clearly part of the stair, both in terms of design and construction.

A few of the following examples feature rods and cables oriented horizontally rather than vertically. This stair combines the vertical and the horizontal by using a woven mesh. In this design the mesh is held within a frame that "floats" within another frame connecting the stair to the steel stringers. It is a detail-intensive design that some may see as busy, but it is fitting with the loft-like space marked by exposed steel joists.

A fairly popular contemporary solution for guardrails is to use rods or cable that follows the slope of the stair. In comparison to vertical pickets, this approach minimizes the number of pieces that must interact with the stair treads. Here we can see that three vertical supports are mounted to the stair in each run. These pieces then receive the rods that follow the slope.

A variation on the horizontal/sloping rods, or in this case cables, is the angle of the supports. In the previous example they are vertical, but here they are perpendicular to the cables. The wood infill piece at the bottom transitions between this angle and the vertical pickets you usually find.

Here is another stair with cables in tension between steel supports. The design of this stair is simple, consisting of two materials: wood for the treads and handrails; steel for the stringers and guardrail/handrail supports. Note the attachment of the paired vertical supports to the face of the stringers.

Here is another fairly simple cable stair/guardrail with frosted glass treads, steel stringers and guardrail/handrail supports, and a wood handrail. The last picks up on the wood mullions and actually steals the show; note how the handrail bends and curves to transition from run to run.

Cables can also be used vertically, as this stunning example shows. Here the cables, which extend to the ceiling above, help support treads that are otherwise cantilevered from the wall. Elsewhere glass is used for guardrails, making this construction in cable stand out even more.

And the last example brings us to the most transparent type of guardrail: clear glass. This stair uses pieces that are held in place by the slender steel handrail supports. For safety reasons it is always good to use tempered glass, ideally with a laminate to hold the glass in place should it break.

While the previous example positioned a full wall of glass opposite a solid wall, this stair is situated next to a small courtyard. Therefore the glass guardrail in the foreground helps to bring daylight from outside to inside.

What, no M.C. Escher? :) Or would that have been in the less safe ideabook? Clearly, I've been watching Inception too many times lately, trying to figure out the ending. My arch. history professor grew up in the Guy Wilson house (Schindler), and once commented on how the stairs were not great for a couple with a two year old, though he survived and went on to become a great architectural historian from the experience!

John, I love this ideabook. Especially since we've just replaced a spiral stair in our apartment and are looking for banister ideas. We are interested in glass or wire mesh. Any advice? The stairs are narrow to accommodate our space.

patricia - I think the guardrail should work with the larger space, which is defined by the brick walls and heavy timber. In that sense, of glass or wire mesh I'd lean towards wire mesh. Glass is not substantial enough. My first thought was floor-to-ceiling pickets, like the one in the middle of the ideabook or this one: